New York native Ron Rifkin made his Broadway debut in the original 1960 production of Neil Simon's {+Come Blow Your Horn}. He made his film debut in the chain-gang adventure film The Devil's 8 in 1969, followed by the sci-fi actioner Silent Running (1971). Rifkin was much more prolific on the stage throughout his career, in some cases leading to film adaptations (as in The Sunshine Boys [1975]).